HSBC to pay $100 million to end Libor rigging lawsuit in U.S.

FILE PHOTO - The HSBC bank logo is seen at their offices in the Canary Wharf financial district in London Thomson Reuters By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc has agreed to pay $100 million to end private U.S. litigation accusing it of conspiring to manipulate the Libor benchmark interest rate, becoming the fourth major bank to settle.

The preliminary accord with "over-the-counter" investors that transacted directly with banks on a panel to determine Libor, or the London Interbank Offered Rate, was disclosed in filings on Thursday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Court approval is required.

Settlements with the OTC investors total $590 million so far, and include $120 million with Barclays Plc , $130 million with Citigroup Inc and $240 million with Deutsche Bank AG .